The April episode of EdTech Mondays is back this Monday. The show will air live on the Kigali Today YouTube channel from 6 PM to 7 PM and will mainly address leveraging technology to advance education and learning in Rwanda under the theme: “Promoting STEM Education through EdTech.”

EdTech Mondays is a monthly talk show sponsored by the Mastercard Foundation Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning in ICT, in collaboration with the ICT Chamber Rwanda.

This Monday’s EdTech Monday talk show, which will be conducted in Kinyarwanda and mainly address leveraging technology to advance education and learning in Rwanda, will air live on both KT Radio and the Kigali Today YouTube Channel under the theme “Promoting STEM Education through EdTech in Rwanda.”

Background:

In recent years, Rwanda has emerged as a regional leader in leveraging technology to drive education reform, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

The country’s Vision 2050 underscores the importance of STEM education in fostering innovation, economic growth, and sustainable development.
Recognizing this, the Rwandan government, in collaboration with private sector partners and international organizations, has made significant investments in hands-on digital STEM learning experiences.

These efforts are designed to equip students with practical skills and
real-world experience, ensuring they are well-prepared for the demands of the 21st-century job market.

In addition, the vision of Rwanda becoming a knowledge economy is embedded in its aspiration to build an educated, innovative, and digitally aware human capital. Central to the vision is enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning at every educational level.

The STEM fields do not just constitute the base of technological
advancements and innovation but also prepare youths to participate dynamically in the world’s digital economy.

Making Rwanda’s EdTech ecosystem more effective and accessible to all learners.

The speed of educational technology (EdTech) transformation presents a unique opportunity to enhance the impact and scope of STEM education in Rwanda. From interactive learning spaces and online schools of coding to virtual labs and AI-assisted tutoring, EdTech is remapping how students learn about STEM concepts.

Yet if Rwanda is to realize its potential, it must strategically invest in EdTech infrastructure, content development, and institutional capacity
building.

Regardless of major progress in digital transformation, challenges persist in high-quality STEM education in Rwanda. Inequitable access to devices, inadequate internet connectivity in rural communities, inadequate numbers of trained STEM teachers, and lack of content localization remain learning barriers.

These barriers largely affect vulnerable and underprivileged populations such as girls and people with disabilities.

EdTech Experts Views:

In this episode of EdTech Mondays, three experts – Linda Pacifique Ikirezi, a software developer and founder of HERinTech; Leon Mwumvaneza, a senior software developer for the education sector, and Samuel Nkurunziza, a head teacher at Kagarama Secondary School, will explore how thoughtful promotion of STEM education and investments in educational technology can help Rwanda build a more inclusive, forward-looking STEM environment.

Through this talk show, the EdTech Mondays organizers aim to spark dialogue and collaboration that will shape a stronger foundation for STEM education.

Some of the areas of discussion will tackle the role the EdTech sector is playing in advancing STEM education, supportive policy environment, accessibility, successful local or regional examples to improve STEM learning outcomes, partnerships, and challenges limiting the use of EdTech and STEM enforcement in Rwanda.

Daniel Sabiiti